Amotekun Bill to Be Signed on Friday
Indications have shown that governors of the southwest states are likely to sign the bill that will aid the commencement of the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN) codenamed Operation Amotekun.
According to reports, the legal hurdle will be cleared this week and the Houses of Assembly in the six states – Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti – are expected to pass the regional security outfit’s operational bill for the governors to give assent on Friday.
Ekiti Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi had on Monday announced that the governors have decided to make the outfit operational when he received the bill’s draft from Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Olawale Fapounda (SAN).
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iDONSABI reports that Operation Amotekun was launched by the governors on January 9 in Ibadan, Oyo state.
Reacting to the launch, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister for Justice Abubakar Malami, declared the outfit illegal, saying the Constitution has no room for a regional security outfit as security is on the Exclusive list.
While the governors insisted that it was the only way for them to protect their people from kidnapping for ransom and other violent crimes, they met with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who intervened.
After the meeting headed bu Osinbajo on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, it was agreed that each of the states should legalise the security outfit.
This forced the Malami to clarify his stance saying there has to be laws backing its operation.
The attorneys-general in the six states put machinery in motion to draft a bill while the speakers of Houses of Assembly agreed to give the bill accelerated passage.
“My colleagues and I were still in discussion about this yesterday (on Sunday) and we have promised ourselves that this will be given the accelerated discussion in our various state executive councils this week and we also send it expeditiously to our various houses of assembly this week.
“Our discussions with our speakers who had been really waiting for this, some of them had been recalling other honourable members from recess in order to give this an accelerated passage in their various legislature, so that by Friday the 14th of February, the bill that hopefully would have been passed would be assented to simultaneously in the six states of the Southwest,” Fayemi said yesterday.
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Corroborating Fayemi’s position, the Oyo State House of Assembly will today debate on the bill. This was revealed by the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Kazeem Olayanju.
“The House will sit tomorrow (today). We are not on recess. I can confirm to you that the bill on Amotekun will be received tomorrow. It could be considered for first reading by Thursday.”
Click here to download the bill uploaded by the Ekiti State Government.
